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Sep 11, 2010

LOST... what's the BIG deal??

Now that LOST has had it's Season Finale, and SURVIVOR is on it's way for another season... I thought I would blog a little on the theme of 'LOST'... I have been wanting to do this blog for a while, yet have never worked on it. Actually I haven't done a lot of blogging as of late. Summer fun, a wedding and work have taken their places on the priority list. I have done some stampin' and craftin' (which I still have to post), yet I haven't had thoughts together to sit down and relax and blog. Yes, I hear you... NO EXCUSES! LOL!

Anyway, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the LOST, and it was encouraged more so when we did Vacation Bible School at our church. The week's Bible lessons revolved around 5 of the Parables of Jesus. The Sower & the Seed, The Lost Sheep, The Good Samaritan, The Friend at Midnight, and The Parable of the Talents. Well, the lessons followed a great pathline... The Word of God gets sowed into our hearts, which may be rocky, weedy or fertile. We are all like lost sheep, when we are separated from the Good Shepherd through sin. The Good Samaritan reminds us that we are all important, and we should help and encourage everyone. Persistance pays off in the end... and we all need to use the gifts and talents that our Heavenly Father gives to us. It will bless and glorify Him in the end, if we use them with the right motives.

The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, The Prodigal Son and the blindness of the Pharisees found in Luke 15:1-32 are the basis of this blog. The WORLD is full of LOST people, and the people of the world have a fascination with being LOST. Take for instance the shows LOST and/or SURVIVOR... These reality-based shows were & still are very popular. Being LOST is NOT a good thing. If you are LOST, you need to be FOUND. Every person who does not have a relationship with Jesus Christ is LOST. All these lessons brought back to my remembrance a message that was spoken at a meeting regarding Evangelism. John Mitchell spoke to us regarding how we see the world. We need to see the world with God's eyes. I have a T-shirt that says 'CROSS-EYED', because it reminds me to look at the world and the people (no matter how rich, poor, annoying, dirty, etc) through God's eyes. Using the CROSS to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. God cannot look on us because of our sin, but when we accept Jesus into our lives and ask Him to change us and transform us, we are no longer LOST.

In John Mitchell's message (because I take great notes, and found them recently)... He says:

God's PICTURE OF THE CHURCH ~ He saw them as BLIND!

God's PICTURE OF THE LOST SHEEP ~ He saw them as LOST!

God's PICTURE OF THE LOST COIN ~ He saw them with VALUE!

God's PICTURE OF THE SONS ~ He saw them with CHOICE!

Therefore, we all were once BLIND and LOST... but we need to remember that we have VALUE, and we also have a CHOICE. God would like us to make the RIGHT choice that leads to eternal life, rather than the one that leads to eternal death. Our eyes can be opened, and we can be FOUND!

But what do the LOST look like? At one or more times in our lives we are LOST or can feel LOST...

1. The LOST COIN -- A person who is LOST and DOESN'T KNOW it.

They NEED -- REVELATION!

2. The LOST SHEEP -- A person who is LOST, KNOWS IT, but DOESN'T KNOW what to do.

They need -- REDEMPTION!

3. The PRODIGAL SON -- A person who is LOST, KNOWS IT & KNOWS what to do.

They need -- RESTORATION!

4. The PATHETIC (Pharisees) -- A person who is FOUND, KNOWS IT,but DOESN'T KNOW why or what for.

They need -- REBUKE!

It makes you think about people you see... what shape is their heart in (rocky, hard, weedy or fertile), yet also where they are on the 'lost scale'? We are sent by God as messengers and Jesus told His disciples in John 20:21, the same thing He is telling us today, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Too many people are worried about searching for the 'immunity idol' in life, and about 'trying to not get kicked of the island' rather than worrying about themselves & their friends who are really 'lost'. Put away all idols, and turn back to God. He will never 'kick you off'. The devil comes to 'steal, kill and destroy', but he will never snatch us from the Father's hand. For it says in the Word, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:27-29) As in the story of the 'sower and the seed', the enemy can 'snatch' away the message, if our hearts are not in the right spot. "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path." (Matthew 13:19)

So I pray, that your desire for LOST increases... the LOST of the world!

Check out this YOUTUBE VIDEO, playing the songs, EVERYTHING (by Chris Tomlin) and LOVE CAME DOWN (by Ben Cantelon) -- the cool line in the last one is, 'I once was lost, but now I'm alive in you'!